suject combination is a headache

Is there life after O/A-Levels? Definitely! How well a person does in tertiary education is correlated with job opportunities open to the person. Discuss issues pertaining to nstitutes of higher learning here.

hi there.
i'm a soon-to-be jc student and is struggling to find a subject combination that suits me.
i'm was thinking of taking up h1 physics..and h2 chem, econs and math.
since my first choice is getting into a science stream.. h2 math is a must, i guess.
my sciences are okay, though my interest mainly lies in chemistry if i were to compare it with physics.
i'm a pure science student by the way.
since i hope to be in the business sector next time cause its more practical.. maybe econs h2 would help a lot?
sooo. there isn't a need to take h2 physics, instead i can just take h1 physcis?
any suggestions cause i heard that some jcs require their students to choose their subj combination on the first day of sch, meaning that i have got no time to lose. ):
also.. if you don't mind, is taking 4h2 subjects beneficial? to me its a complete waste of time because it requires more time and if someone can't cope with one of the h2.. they can opt to drop to h1 in the next year, resuting in a lost of time. my senior told me that taking 4h2 is like an insurance.
any advice??
thanks. (:

Ilovebeingkiasu wrote:hi there. i'm a soon-to-be jc student and is struggling to find a subject combination that suits me. i'm was thinking of taking up h1 physics..and h2 chem, econs and math. since my first choice is getting into a science stream.. h2 math is a must, i guess. my sciences are okay, though my interest mainly lies in chemistry if i were to compare it with physics.i'm a pure science student by the way. since i hope to be in the business sector next time cause its more practical.. maybe econs h2 would help a lot? sooo. there isn't a need to take h2 physics, instead i can just take h1 physcis? any suggestions cause i heard that some jcs require their students to choose their subj combination on the first day of sch, meaning that i have got no time to lose. ): also.. if you don't mind, is taking 4h2 subjects beneficial? to me its a complete waste of time because it requires more time and if someone can't cope with one of the h2.. they can opt to drop to h1 in the next year, resuting in a lost of time. my senior told me that taking 4h2 is like an insurance. any advice?? thanks. (:

I was not a science student but I would like to ask: Do you enjoy (or at least think you will enjoy) the subjects you are thinking of taking? If you don't, take something else.

If you take something that you don't enjoy, you are going to be miserable. Life is too short.

phankao wrote:I'd like to know more about A-level subject combinations these days.

In our time, we used to take 4 A-level subjects. Now it's called H2, is it? Is it less common to do four H2 now? Seems the JCs generally tend to recommend students to do 3H2 instead.

How would that affect their university entry points? (last time no "points" either - or not known to us). Or any other impact between taking 3 or 4 H2 for the 4 core subjects?

Strictly speaking, there's no distinct advantage for 4 H2 students over 3 H2 students. Universities only consider 3 H2 + 3 H1. Our jcs are wise to recommend the above as they also want their students to concentrate on ccas and project work. Good cca record is far more important than offering an additional H2. Local unis put more weight in this area.

For scholarship applications, a 3 H2 + 1 H1 student can neutralise a 4 H2 student by taking up a H3 subject if he/she is performing very well in all the subjects.

For scholarships, offering 11AUs is a minimal requirement for most. Plenty of applicants will offer the full 12AUs and come with great CCA records too. My school generally recommends 4H2s, and many students go on to offer at least 1 H3 in J2.

Locally, I think there's no difference between 4H2s and 3H2s+1H1, except that you get a bit more flexibility in scoring. Your worst subject gets downgraded, so an AAAB student will outscore a student with AAB (H2) + A (H1), since a H2 is worth more for the same grade. AAA + B (from AAAB) > AAB + A.

The last I checked, most local schools don't care for your CCA/ portfolio unless you're applying for stuff like University Scholars Programme or certain courses (eg Medicine, Dentistry). It's purely academic by and large and admission is wholly based on University Points. Of course, there's the discretionary admission / appeal in which case a good CCA record will be useful. SMU might prefer candidates with a good CCA/portfolio - I'm not familiar with their admissions policy (except that it normally involves an interview lol)

Now for applying to the UK, assuming you do "traditional" subjects as in your proposed combi (ie no CSE, CSC, ELL, MLL, KI, which some schools don't like), it gives you more room for error. Most schools generally ask for only 3 H2s subjects (mostly ignoring all H1s and H3s), and will have little/no preference (unless you apply for a related course eg Econs generally asks for an A in H2 Math) So that means a student could score AAAB, AAAC and still qualify for Oxbridge (they ask for 3As). A student with AAB + A won't though. You need to get 3As in all 3 H2s, compared to 3 out of 4 for 4 H2s.

If you're keen on going to the top schools (eg UPenn, UC Berk for Biz), try to max out to 12 AUs or at least 11. Most schools explicitly prefer candidates who have "taken on the most difficult course load possible". It's very much like scholarships - nearly everyone will do 12 AUs so you'll be disadvantaged.

INNOVATE wrote:For scholarship applications, a 3 H2 + 3 H1 student can neutralise a 4 H2 student by taking up a H3 subject if he/she is performing very well in all the subjects.

But may not be able to "guarantee" that he/she can do a H3? Bc only 100/800 students may be recommended? And then it's subject to approval.

What you mentioned is correct. However, a very able 3 H2 + 3 H1 student should have no problem getting approval from the universities to take 1 H3. A 4 H2 student also needs to do very well to take 1 H3 and for others at least passed all subjects at prelims inoder to continue otherwise schools will ask them to drop the weakest H2 to H1.

Generally, is better for high majority to do well in all 3 H2 + 3 H1 and excel in cca even if not eligible for a H3 component. No need to attempt 4 H2 at all.

They will go places with a very good set of A-level(10 academic units- 3 H2 + 3 H1 ) plus very good cca record. Its better than straights As in 12 academic units(4 H2 + 2 H1 + 1 H3) with nothing to show for cca.

My dd is thinking of 3H2 (Chem,Bio,Math) and 3H1 (GP,PW,Geog/Econs). She has to take MT H1 too cos did not take HMT in Sec. Then she's interested to go audition for Music Elective Program which the school offer at H2 level. If so, that means she'll have a total of 4H2s and 4H1s subjects. I'm worried its too much for her to cope, do share your experience. Also, wondering Geog or Econs is better as a contrasting subject. She did SS/Geog elective so she would be more familar with the subject than Econs which is totally new.

hesiew wrote:My dd is thinking of 3H2 (Chem,Bio,Math) and 3H1 (GP,PW,Geog/Econs). She has to take MT H1 too cos did not take HMT in Sec. Then she's interested to go audition for Music Elective Program which the school offer at H2 level. If so, that means she'll have a total of 4H2s and 4H1s subjects. I'm worried its too much for her to cope, do share your experience. Also, wondering Geog or Econs is better as a contrasting subject. She did SS/Geog elective so she would be more familar with the subject than Econs which is totally new.

She should just use Music as the contrasting Humanities subject instead of Geog or Econs.

thanks everyone for your replies. i really appreciate them. because my school had a university talk on the first day of school, talking about pre-requisites of the different uni courses, i figured out that whether one takes h1/h2 econs wouldn't really affect a person's career should he/she takes up business or accountancy in the uni. thus, i decided on h1 econs, h2 physics, chem and math. i tot that since i had basic and fundamental foundation for physics, i might as well persue physics at a h2 level since i would grasp the subject much more easily than getting confused over econs. lectures would start next week, hope i dont regret the combination i chose. i'm aiming for a h3 math course when i advance to j2 next year.. wondering how it would help me in worklife next time. any advices? my dad sort of wanna me to take up a h3 math as i attained a1 straight for my sec 3 and sec 4 for every exam. is this a indication that i should take up h3 math since i'm better at this sector? ;/